Darwin Cricket 2024: Waratah leap to the top of table after dramatic final day
Waratah surged to the top of the Darwin cricket table following an outright victory against Tracy Village in a dramatic final day of the regular season. Read the latest Darwin cricket action.
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Following a dramatic final day of the Darwin A-Grade cricket minor rounds, the top four is settled and Waratah (28), Palmerston (28), Southern Districts (28) and Nightcliff (24) will compete for the silverware over the next two weekends.
The closeness of the competition was not determined until the final minor round where Palmerston lost its table leading position after being demolished by PINT and Waratah jumped to the top with an outright victory over Tracy Village.
A middle and late order batting revival got Districts home against Darwin while Nightcliff had the bye and slipped to fourth.
Darwin was pushing for a win and a possible finals berth against Districts and when speedster Tom Menzies produced a memorable opening spell sending the rural top order spinning out of control.
At 5-33, it appeared the Eagles had the first part of the equation in their keeping.
But with the youthful Menzies unable to continue for lengthy spells, the Croc middle order led by a resurgent Jackson Isakka (103no) and number seven Lachlan Bangs (60), the rural men clawed their way back into the game and at 8-265 stumps were drawn.
Palmerston led the two-day competition until they were ravaged by PINT who defeated the Maroons by 99 runs on the first innings.
Commencing at 2-15, Palmy was in deep trouble against the pace of Nick Bembrick and spin of Coby Edmondstone and at 5-51 their cause seemed impossible and apart from Alex Bleakley (37) and Aidan Firman (39) no others were able to counter the disciplined Green bowling pair.
And Waratah fulfilled its ambition of a home final at Gardens Oval with a swashbuckling nine wicket outright win over Tracy Village.
Starting the day on 2-108 chasing the Village 154, the Red Cap batsmen made short work of the bowling and skipper Jagadeswara Koduru called a halt at 4-183 giving them a lead of only 29 runs.
However, Tracy’s second innings lasted a mere 28.2 overs, and they were bowled out for 90. Needing 61, Tahs cruised to the win in 10.5 overs.
Although disappointed with the loss and also without gaining match points in the red ball game, Tracy Village captain Jack Doyle believes there is a light at the end of the tunnel and the club is down but not out.
“We obviously had high expectations coming into the season, but we are realistic and have already looked at our deficiencies and will rebuild over the next couple of seasons and come back stronger than ever,” he said.
“Looking back, we were reasonably happy with our white ball games where we had wins and pushed a couple of the more fancied sides.
“But it was our red ball performances that were not up to standard especially in or batting depth where we just didn’t play out enough 80-overs and therefore our bowlers were always under pressure.
“And we need to be more discriminating in our recruiting where a couple of penetrating bowlers, whether fast or spin, is essential.
“However, on a positive note, there is a good culture at the club among the locals and juniors and we see that as a decisive stepping stone for the future.”
Results:
Waratah 4dec-183 (Jagadeswara Koduru 67, Sasith Livera 61) and 1-63 d Tracy Village 10-154 and 10-90.
Southern Districts 8-265 (Jackson Isakka 103no, Lachlan Bangs 60; Tom Menzies 5-90) d Darwin 7dec-260.
PINT 10-226 and 4-129 d Palmerston 10-127 (Aidan Firman 39; Coby Edmondstone 4-45, Nick Bembrick 4-57).
Bye: Nightcliff.
Former international bowler leads the way for Red Caps
With the final minor round underway, Waratah took a giant step toward holding its spot inside the top four following a dominant day one in their Darwin A-Grade match against Tracy Village.
Tahs skipper Jagadeswara Koduru turned to the former Sri Lankan international paceman Shaminda Eranga (19 tests, 57 wickets) and the in-form Roshane Fernando to take the new ball.
Eranga provided immediate success taking a wicket in each of his first two overs and when Fernando also tasted early success, the Villagers slumped to a precarious 3-17.
A middle order resurgence led by hard-hitting Arjun Sehrawat lifted the visitors to 6-114 at the tea break.
However, lost Sehrawat (53) who was predictably caught on the mid-wicket boundary from the bowling of astute off-spinner Udara Weerasinghe, and Tracy’s batting slid from there.
Madura Weerasinghe (3-28) led the way with the ball while Eranga (2-19), Udara Weerasinghe (2-32) and Fernando (2-45) maintained the high-pressure bowling and reduced the Villagers to 154 all out.
Keen to take maximum points and ensure a home final, the Red Cap batsmen hit the crease on the run and with Koduru scoring a brisk 67 (54 balls, eight fours, three sixes), Tahs reached 2-108 when stumps were drawn.
Nursing a groin strain sustained while bowling was Eranga who has a unique record in the international arena.
He remains the only player to take a wicket in his first over on debut in each of the three forms of the game: Shane Watson (Australia) in test cricket; Brad Haddin (Australia) in ODIs and Gautam Gambhir (India) in T20s.
“That’s an incredible life changing story and while I didn’t expect such an achievement that record is forever under my name and my country’s name and of course I’m proud of that,” he said.
“Unfortunately, my international career was cut short when I got a lower back injury, and it took me two years of treatment and exercise before I was able to get back to some sort of my earlier pace and variety, but the game had passed me by, and my life was changed.
“I have been playing cricket in Adelaide for some time and got a call from Madura Weerasinghe and Himesh Silva both of whom I played cricket with in our early days in Sri Lanka and they asked me to come up to Darwin and qualify to play finals.
“I’ve never been here before but like every other place in Australia it’s difficult for bowlers but that’s okay because it is a challenge.
“It’s good to catch up with some of my early cricketing teammates. I hope this injury is only minor and I can get a quick recovery in time to play finals.”
Elsewhere, Darwin travelled to Gerry Wood Oval to take on Southern Districts knowing that only a big win and reliance on other results would elevate them into the major rounds.
On the back of a rollicking century from captain Daniel Kerber (101no) the Eagles declared at 7-260 from 67 overs.
Tim Garner (3-43) and the ever-reliable Chris McEvoy (2-26) held their own with the ball for the rural team.
Batting earlier than expected, Districts’ top order was ambushed by Darwin quicks Tom Menzies and Aidan Brasher who both took an early wicket and at stumps, the Crocs sit at 2-15.
And Pint accumulated a moderate 10-226 against top-of-the-table Palmerston where number four Prasana Ketheeshwaran (84) was the batting rock while Hamish Martin (5-43, 26.3 overs) tested all the visiting willow wielders. In reply, Palmy is precariously placed at 2-15 requiring a further 211.
Results:
Tracy Village 10-154 (Arjun Sehrawat 53; Madura Weerasinghe 3-28) v Waratah 2-108 (Jagadeswara Koduru 67).
Darwin 7dec-260 (Daniel Kerber 101no; Tim Garner 3-43, Chris McEvoy 2-26) v Southern Districts 2-25.
PINT 10-226 (Prasana Ketheeshwaran 84; Hamish Martin 5-43) v Palmerston 2-15.
Bye: Nightcliff.
Disciplined bowling helps Waratah hold off Darwin
Chasing 404 for victory, Darwin made a good show but fell short of the Waratah total on day two of their Darwin A-Grade game played at Kahlin Oval.
Opener Jordan Rossi went without scoring to an acrobatic leg side catch by keeper Max Parker from the bowling of Roshane Fernando.
But a second wicket partnership of 121, which was highlighted by a Jacob Dickman masterclass (94 from 104 balls), and Atharv Deshpande got the Eagles back on track.
And although both were back in the pavilion shortly before the tea break, Darwin was healthily placed at 3-166.
Another century stand (114) between Mitch Jamieson (59) and captain Daniel Kerber (53) kept their team in touch of a remarkable victory.
However, persistence and disciplined bowling by the Red Caps finally undid the work of the Darwin top order and the home side was dismissed for 324 – 80 runs short of the target.
Steady medium-pacer Fernando topped the list with 4-49 while Udara Weerasinghe (2-66) bowled a marathon 20.3 overs.
Back for his second season with the Eagles, 19-year-old top order batsman Atharv Deshpande admits his first crack at Top End cricket was not up to expectations.
But he agrees he is happier with the second stint which has yielded two centuries and two half-centuries plus long spells at the bowling crease.
“I wasn’t quite happy with my form last season but this year I wanted to prove to myself as much as anything that I was good enough to score runs here,” he said.
“My numbers show that and hopefully my value to the team has been beneficial.
“Also, my spin bowling has lifted and that has also been useful especially since we lost both leg spinners during the season who were quality bowlers.
“Today was pretty much a must win game because we are aiming to play finals and go one better than last season where we were runners up.
“We’ve got a new leadership group this season and once we settled our performances lifted but losing here was not the preferred option nor the right ingredient to play finals.”
Elsewhere, a pleasingly committed Tracy Village gave the more fancied Nightcliff a scare when opener Guntaas Brar (63) and number 3 Tom Campbell (83) shared a 123-run second wicket partnership.
But once spinners Charlie Smith (5-76, 25.5 overs) and Andrew Richards (4-54, 26 overs) found their rhythm, the Village batsmen succumbed and were finally dismissed for 211.
And coming off the bye, Palmerston was unable to immediately regain its winning form and suffered its first two-day loss against Southern Districts.
Chasing a competitive 285, the Maroons were in early bother at 5-78 but Ethan Anderson (64) and Cadell McMahon (25) at five and seven respectively lifted Palmy but with Dylan Mullen (3-25) and the consistent Chris McEvoy (3-29) ever present, Districts had all the answers and won comfortably by 94 runs.
Results:
Southern Districts 9-285 d Palmerston 9-191 (Ethan Anderson 64, Caleb Montague 42; Dylan Mullen 3-25, Chris McEvoy 3-25).
Waratah 7-404 d Darwin 10-324 (Jacob Dickman 94, Mitch Jamieson 59, Daniel Kerber 53; Roshane Fernando 4-49).
Nightcliff 10-243 d Tracy Village 10-211 (Tom Campbell 83, Guntaas Brar 63, Charlie Smith 5-76, Andrew Richards 4-54).
Bye: PINT.
Waratah batsman passes 1000+ run milestone for 2024 season
The wait is over because Waratah batting maestro Jagadeswara Koduru tipped over the 1000-run mark for the season on day one of his side’s Darwin A-Grade game against Darwin.
Following a glowing opening partnership of 171 between Aryan Jain (110) and Rhonan Appleby (64), Koduru strode to the middle needing 31 runs to reach the magical mark.
And he had scored 46 before being dismissed by Justin Galeotti with the score at 3-261.
In all forms of the game this season, with one minor round remaining, Koduru has plundered 1015 runs from opposition bowlers.
Earlier however, the Red Cap opening pair made the most of the true batting wicket and after winning the toss, took the score to 0-166 at the tea break.
Darwin had rolled through eight bowlers in an attempt to curb the run flow and it took reliable medium-pacer Will Pilkington to make the break when he sent both Jain and Appleby on their way in quick succession.
But wickets remained hard to get with Koduru and Isaac Conway (114) adding to the bowling woes and at stumps, Tahs reached an imposing 7-404.
Watching from the sideline as the drama unfolded was Red Cap joint player/coach Madura Weerasinghe who recently played his 100th game for club after spending time at Nightcliff when he first came to Darwin in 2012 from Bunbury in WA.
“Waratah is my club now and I have enjoyed my time at Gardens Oval since transferring from Nightcliff,” he said.
“While we have had success with premierships in the white ball forms of the game, that is not so with red ball cricket.
“Certainly, my brother Udara has been a major influence on me as a cricketer and when he decided to stand aside from the coaching this season, he asked me and Himesh Silva to take the reins.
“If we win this game, we almost certainly play finals and that was the first part of our plan at the start of the season.
“And the second is to win a two-day premiership but that is for later because we are a bit unsettled with availability now, but we remain quietly confident.”
Elsewhere, Tracy Village had the better of Nightcliff early in their innings and the Tigers slumped to 2-12.
But a middle-order revival including an 81-run performance from Lachlin Ball batting at six lifted the visitors to 10-243 from 69.4 overs.
In reply, the Villagers were 0-18, trailing by 225 at stumps.
And it was a similar tale at Gerry Wood Oval when visiting Palmerston reduced the home side to 3-29 early in the innings.
However, a solid middle and late order collaboration lifted the rural men to 9-285 after 80 overs.
Chief contributors with the bat were Tim Garner (63) and consistent allrounder Delano Potgieter (56) while wickets were shared by the Maroon bowlers with four of them taking two wickets each.
Results:
Southern Districts 9-285 (Tim Garner 63, Delano Potgieter 56; Jasper Darley 2-28, Matthew Scoble 2-34) v Palmerston.
Waratah 7-404 (Isaac Conway 114, Aryan Jain 110; Will Pilkington 4-72) v Darwin.
Nightcliff 10-243 (Lachlan Ball 81; Tye Beer 3-46) v Tracy Village 0-18.
Bye: PINT.
Nightcliff hold on to slender win against milestone chasing Tahs
Waratah will have to wait another round to celebrate a rare NT milestone as skipper Jagadeswara Koduru missed his 1000-run chance against Nightcliff.
The prime batsman nicked a delivery from Connor Carroll to slip and was out for six, while his team was narrowly defeated by the disciplined Tiger’s outfit.
The Nightcliff bowling array managed to get the Red Caps for 228, just three runs short of their target.
The red caps floundered early when opener Sam Elliott was trapped in front from the first ball bowled by quick Tyler Van Luin.
And when Koduru was sent packing a short while later, Tahs were reduced to 2-28 but worse was to come and at 5-81, the Tigers were flying high.
However, a big sixth wicket partnership by stubborn opener Aryan Jain (87) and Archie McCormick (53) proved a headache for the bowlers.
Then when Crandel Siegelwin joined McCormick after Jain’s dismissal, Tahs batting momentum was maintained, and that pair carried the score to 8-222 but off-spinner Andrew Richards held his nerve, and the Tigers got the win by the bare margin.
Meanwhile, chasing a substantial 347 for victory, PINT failed to build on a slow-paced beginning against Darwin on day two of their Darwin A-Grade game played at Kahlin Oval.
The Green opening pair of Tom Scott and Farzan Chowna appeared largely untroubled but batted without any apparent urgency and meandered to a moderate 98 runs at the tea break.
That pair carried the score to 123 before persistent medium-pacer Will Pilkington snared both in quick succession.
Then when Coby Edmondstone fell without scoring, PINT slumped to 3-138.
There was some resistance from Connor Poulton (37) and Angus Evans, but the return of Tom Menzies to the bowling crease essentially closed out PINT with his two quick wickets, including Evans (29), to wrest back the advantage for his side.
Although beaten, PINT did occasionally challenge the Eagles which was not unnoticed by the Green all-rounder Edmondstone who was returning from injury.
“We started with some caution but that was part of the plan because Darwin did the same last week and the very nature of the wicket here at Kahlin is supportive to the quicks early and then normally settles down,” he said.
“But they persisted and didn’t allow us to get any momentum and kept taking wickets which in the end proved vital because we were not able to take chances with the bat.”
Edmondstone has been troubled by injury this season, but said he was recovering and keen to play in the Top End series which gets underway later this week.
“The Top End competition starts on Friday which should be exciting and while I was hoping to get some batting practice to test my injury, that obviously didn’t happen, but still, I’m confident going forward,” he said.
“Mainly it is a side strain that I got against Tracy in our last game, but the treatment seems to have worked and I will give it a good test during the week and hopefully I’ll be fully fit for the series with both bat and ball.”
A predictable outright win by Southern Districts followed its course in the match played against Tracy Village at the Village Green.
Starting the day at 5-49 and trailing by 231 runs, Tracy was bowled out for 93 in its first innings with only captain Jack Doyle (47) able to counter the aggressive Districts’ attack.
Batting a second time, a disorganised home side was bowled out for a meagre 71 runs in 29.4 overs. Chief destroyers were Delano Potgieter (3-3) and Anthony Scott (3-7).
Results:
Darwin 5-347 d PINT 10-256 (Tom Scott 65, Farzan Chowna 60; Will Pilkington 3-54, Atharv Deshpande 3-101).
Southern Districts 10-280 d Tracy Village 10-93 (Jack Doyle 47; Delano Potgieter 4-35, Lachlan Bangs 3-24) and 10-71 (Delano Potgieter 3-3, Anthony Scott 3-7).
Nightcliff 9dec-231 d Waratah 10-228 (Aryan Jain 87, Archie McCormick 53; Connor Carroll 4-46, James Hatton 3-40).
Bye: Palmerston.
Darwin sets big total as junior star returns
Coming off a heavy loss, Darwin batsmen regrouped and ground out a highly competitive 5-347 at stumps on day one of their Darwin A-Grade game against PINT played at Kahlin Oval.
The Eagles began slowly, after winning the toss, but with some degree of sureness against the PINT quicks Oliver and Nicholas Bembrick.
They appeared safe until Jacob Dickman edged one down the leg side and was well caught by keeper Connor Poulton with the score at 41.
Jordan Rossi and Atharv Deshpande took Darwin to a moderate 1-104 at tea but both fell soon after and then it was the turn of an inconsistent Mitchell Jamieson (58) and captain Daniel Kerber to face the music.
Both rose to the occasion with Kerber (112no) scoring his maiden century for the season.
PINT rotated through six bowlers but the heavy reliance on the Bembrick brothers was evident with Nicholas (2-49, 21 overs) being the only multiple wicket taker.
All the while Darwin’s emerging seamer Tom Menzies was waiting to take his place at the crease in what was his first outing for his home club since touring with the Australian U19 team to England and then playing some minor county games.
Menzies will qualify for finals if his team manages to make the playoffs.
“Looking back at the tour which started about 10 months ago and my time playing in England after the tour I realise now I was fortunate to be chosen,” Menzies said.
“We played some good cricket at some amazing grounds. Conditions were entirely different and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.
“However, it’s also good to get back to my spiritual home at Kahlin Oval and while I don’t expect to make an immediate impact, I’m trying to bowl a bit quicker and hopefully my presence will benefit the team and club in general.”
Menzies is in a gap year after completing his HSC in 2023 and has a university place in Adelaide but is unsure where his cricket playing future lies.
“Looking to go to uni next year and also looking to play in the upcoming Top End cricket series and while there are some scary names I’ll be bowling at, the experience will be a challenge,” he said.
After falling to 6-76, Southern Districts’ late order batsmen rallied and lifted the score to 10-280 with Anthony Scott (81) and the consistent Chris McEvoy (46) being the chief contributors. Tye Beer (4-87) was the standout Tracy Village bowler.
But worse was to come for the Villagers as their top order again faltered, and at 5-6 in the face of some hostile bowling from Delano Potgieter (3-22) and Lachlan Bangs (2-9), complete capitulation appeared likely, but a mini recovery followed and at stumps Tracy was 5-49.
And all eyes will be on Waratah captain Jagadeswara Koduru as he attempts to reach 1000-runs in all forms of the game this season in the match against Nightcliff.
Tahs stand at 0-10, chasing Nightcliff’s 9-231 declared, and with Koduru (963 runs at 120.3) likely to bat at his normal No 3 position, a rare although not unique event may unfold.
Results:
Darwin 5-347 (Daniel Kerber 112no, Mitchell Jamieson 58, Jordan Rossi 56; Nicholas Bembrick 2-49) v PINT.
Southern Districts 10-280 (Anthony Scott 81, Chris McEvoy 46; Tye Beer 4-87) v Tracy Village 5-49 (Delano Potgieter 3-22, Lachlan Bangs 2-9).
Nightcliff 9dec-231 (Douwtjie Hoogenboezem 81, Lachlan Ball 44; Madura Weerasinghe 4-59, Roshane Fernando 3-34) v Waratah 0-10.
Bye: Palmerston.
PINT captain nails century, as Palmerston dominate Darwin
Leading by 11 runs and with eight wickets in hand after a dominant day one, PINT failed in its attempt to gain outright points against a dogged Tracy Village in their Darwin A-Grade match played at DXC Arena No 2 oval.
It came as Darwin found themselves no match against the 464 runs required to down top-of-the-table Palmerston.
The task was always going to be a mountain too high and that proved to be the case as the Eagles were dismissed for 289.
There were contributions from late order batsmen Ronak Bedi (78) and Justin Galeotti (57), while a half-century from No 3 Atharv Deshpande (56) was also worthy.
But spin pair Hamish Martin 5-127 (35 overs) and Rommel Shahzad (3-108, 27.2 overs) always had the upper hand.
At DXC Arena PINT were at 2-148 and chasing maximum points, with their captain Farzan Chowna on 76no and Connor Poulton 28no.
They were untroubled in piling on a 182-run third wicket stand before Poulton was deceived by Tracy skipper Jack Doyle who gleefully accepted the return catch.
Poulton’s dismissal at 95 signalled the close of the PINT innings and with Chowna unbeaten on 129, the home side declared at 3-271 giving them a lead of 134.
Tracy was forced to rearrange its order in its second innings, due to an injury sustained by keeper and regular opener Steve Roser.
The common theme of top-order batting disarray again emerged when medium pacer Noah MacDonald snared two quick wickets which had the Villagers reeling at 2-11.
However, Tom Campbell (100no) and Lenny Wilton (43) regained the initiative and with the score at 3-188, stumps were drawn by mutual agreement.
Poulton’s contribution to the PINT total could not be understated but star of the show was undoubtedly Chowna who ran up his second century for the season and when he declared an hour before the tea break, he said that was always the plan at the beginning.
“Things went okay at the start where we tried to get a lead of 100 to 150 by drinks and that pretty much went according to plan although it was disappointing to see Connor lose his wicket because I wasn’t going to declare until he reached his century,” Chowna said.
“We were a couple of bowlers short in the second innings where Nick Bembrick was unavailable, and Coby (Edmondstone) sustained an injury last week, so we knew it was going to be a difficult task.
“So, the idea was to bowl Oliver Bembrick until he dropped from one end and share the load from the other end, and while Noah got two early wickets, they batted extremely well.”
Chowna is in his second year with PINT and first as captain and was attracted to Darwin so he could play competitive cricket in the southern off-season, where he played at Essendon but will move to the Melbourne Cricket Club in the coming season.
“I just wanted to play more cricket in the off-season and PINT showed interest and here I am,” he said.
“I will move to Melbourne next season where I believe there will be more opportunity and both clubs are happy for me to play in Darwin in the off-season so that is a relief for me because I love it here.”
In other games, Southern Districts quick bowlers Delano Potgieter (5-42) and Lachlan Bangs (4-40) were the standouts in their 105-run first innings win over Nightcliff.
Jordan Roads (60) and Paul Wasiewicz (46) were the only two who appeared comfortable against the fiery right and left arm combination.
Results:
Southern Districts 10-268 d Nightcliff 10-163 (Jordan Roads 60, Paul Wasiewicz 46; Delano Potgieter 5-42, Lachlan Bangs 4-40).
PINT 3-271 (Farzan Chowna 129no, Connor Poulton 95; Samuel Bammant 2-77) d Tracy Village 10-137 and 3-188 (Tom Campbell 100no, Lenny Wilton 43; Noah MacDonald 2-17).
Palmerston 9-463 d Darwin 10-289 (Ronak Bedi 78, Justin Galeotti 57, Atharv Deshpande 56; Hamish Martin 5-127).
Villagers to fight back after first innings deficit to PINT
PINT gained first innings points after an overwhelming performance against Tracy Village and lead by 11 runs at stumps on day one of their Darwin A-Grade match played at DXC Arena number two oval.
Meanwhile, Palmerston continued to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with in the two-day competition with a season high score of 9-463 from its allotted 80 overs come stumps.
The side flexed its red ball cricket playing muscle again despite a disastrous beginning to its innings against Darwin.
The Eagles’ quicks Max Birthisel and Aidan Brasher took an early wicket each putting the Cazalys Oval outfit well and truly on the back foot.
But from there Aidan Firman (135) and Alex Bleakley (127) got together and added 205 for the third wicket turning a spirited fightback into a dominant position.
It came just a week after Palmerston captain Hamish Martin took his 250th A-Grade wicket.
For Tracy Village and PINT, both teams were looking to get back to winning ways following some recent poor performances, but it was the home team that was superior in all aspects of the game.
Tracy skipper Jack Doyle elected to bat after winning the toss, but a familiar tale followed when PINT seamers Oliver and Nicholas Bembrick tore the heart out of the top order.
The bowlers took two wickets each to condemn the visitors to 4-29 early on.
Some recovery followed against the aggressive bowling with the resilient Doyle (35) at six and hard-hitting Arjun Sehrawat (48) at number seven adding some respectability to the total.
But the PINT bowlers were relentless, and they were backed up by some wonderful catching in the field and behind the wicket by keeper Connor Poulson, and the Villager’s last wicket fell at 137 from 42.3 overs.
PINT openers Tom Scott and captain Farzan Chowna then set about the bowling and put on 89 for the first wicket before Scott (39) was dismissed.
But with the score at 2-148 when stumps were drawn and Chowna on 76no, the home side had already secured first innings points.
One of the few Village top-order batting shining lights this season is wicketkeeper-batsman Steven Roser but even he succumbed to the pair of PINT pace bowlers and Roser was unhappy with the way he was dismissed.
“This is my first time in Darwin, and I just wanted to play a bit of cricket in our off-season and since the current Tracy coach Rick Bean coached me at home in Rockhampton, I joined him here in Darwin,” Roser said.
“Our innings was not good enough and while we all try, some poor decision making has been a feature of our batting this season.
“And I’m no exception, I got out today because of a poor decision with the shot I played.”
Roser has two strings to his cricket playing bow – he opens the batting and keeps wicket but says he is really a keeper-batsman in that order.
“I’m happy to be referred to as a keeper-batsman because I’ve got a bit of work to do with my batting,” he said.
“I’m here to learn and improve and today was typical of my season – I seem to get starts and begin to hit the ball well but also like today I don’t go on with the job.
“I have ambitions to play at the next level but for now I am happy to just play and enjoy my cricket and my form, although a bit inconsistent, reflects that because I’ve scored some runs against a few pretty good bowlers.”
And Southern Districts batsmen coped reasonably well against the steadiness of Nightcliff’s long line of bowlers and were dismissed for 268.
Most of the rural batsmen got starts but only skipper Tim Garner (51) turned his beginning into a significant contribution.
Off-spinner Andrew Richards 4-57 filed the best return while young seamer Nicholas Fleming was economical taking 2-35 from his 15 overs.
Results:
Southern Districts 10-268 (Tim Garner 51; Andrew Richards 4-57, Nicholas Fleming 2-35) v Nightcliff.
Tracy Village 10-137 (Arjun Sehrawat 48, Jack Doyle 35; Oliver Bembrick 4-54, Nicholas Bembrick 3-19) v PINT 2-148 (Farzan Chowna 76no; Samuel Bammant 2-43).
Palmerston 9-463 (Aidan Firman 135, Alex Bleakley 127; Justin Galeotti 4-93) v Darwin.
Bye: Waratah.
Huge second wicket stand secures Waratah win over Districts
Waratah ran down the 209 runs required and took out first innings points over Southern Districts on the back of a commanding 171-run second wicket partnership between Jagadeswara Koduru and Aryan Jain.
The red caps started the day at 1-8 and Koduru (100no) and Jain (78) began cautiously against the pace of Lachlan Bangs and Patrick Nagel.
But once the batting combination settled, it was always going to be a matter of time before the red caps recorded the victory which occurred at 3-221 in a mere 50.5 overs.
Districts used seven bowlers but only Bangs (2-22, 10 overs) and Dylan Mullen (1-60) tasted success.
Waratah captain and batting star Koduru was happy with both achievements chasing back-to-back red ball game wins and individual back-to-back centuries.
“That’s two out of two in the red ball competition so we are pretty happy about that especially since there have been contributions from all players but especially our bowlers who have been outstanding,” Koduru said.
“We’ve got the bye next round and while it is not ideal because of the current winning momentum, it has some upside because as a team we can reset, and it gives our southerners time to go home before we get into finals mode which hopefully will occur.
“It is the same for me and although I’m not going back home, I might take a bit of time off batting-wise and recharge myself and come back with new energy because it has been a long season, and we still have four rounds left before the finals.”
The strong-willed right-hander started the day with 863 runs at 107.3 from all three forms of the game this season, but was unaware of nearing the magical 1000-run milestone before he agreed with the opposition captain to call stumps.
“I don’t think it is healthy to look at individual runs I have made although when I was younger that was nearly always in the front of my mind,” he said.
“Now, I think more about the feeling when batting and any achievements will take care of themselves.”
In other games, Palmerston continued to lead the competition following an impressive 96 run win over Tracy Village.
Starting the day at 1-28, chasing a moderate Village first innings of 160, Palmy declared at 6-239 with the consistent Caleb Montague scoring 82 while Alex Bleakley (59) and Aidan Firman (56) added to the Tracy woes.
In successive rounds, the Village batsmen were at their best in the second innings and denied the Maroons of outright points by reaching 4-143 when they also declared shortly before stumps.
And PINT were no match for Nightcliff and could only manage 145 in reply to the Tiger score of 6-295.
A highlight was the 5-24 taken by seamer James Hatton from 7.4 overs. Hatton is the son of club legend Brad, and while his five-wicket haul doesn’t rate above his father, it was the youngster’s best return in senior cricket.
Results:
Waratah 3-221 (Jagadeswara Koduru 100no, Aryan Jain 78; Lachlan Bangs 2-22) d Southern Districts 10-217.
Palmerston 6dec239 (Caleb Montague 82, Alex Bleakley 59, Aidan Firman 56) and 0-5 d Tracy Village 10-160 and 4-dec143 (Lenny Wilton 74, Tom Campbell 50).
Nightcliff 6-295 d PINT 10-145 (Connor Poulton 38; James Hatton 5-24) and 0-45.
Bye: Darwin.
Waratah bowlers leave Districts in precarious position
Southern Districts made hard work of batting first on the placid Gardens Oval pitch and just before the close on day one of their Darwin A-grade match against Waratah, they were bowled out for a moderate 217.
However, Districts hit back in the last over and Tahs ended the day at 1-8.
Keen to bowl first because of the news that pace ace Noah McFadyen will return to his home state of Queensland during the week, Tahs skipper Jagadeswara Koduru called correctly.
However, McFadyen, who was coming off a career best senior performance of eight wickets, and fellow seamer Crandel Siegelwin failed to make the early breakthrough against a resolute Districts opening pair of Nic Broes and Dylan Mullen.
Yet, it was Siegelwin who got the first wicket when he had Mullen brilliantly caught behind by keeper Liam Blackford with the score on 40.
Joshua Gawthorpe came and went the very next ball and when Jackson Isakka was dismissed by McFadyen soon after, the rural team was precarious at 3-66 but skipper Tim Garner (33), Lachlan Bangs (25) and Chris McEvoy (42) steadied the ship and pushed the score to 217.
Runs were hard to come by from the economical bowling of Udara and Madura Weerasinghe and while McFadyen didn’t replicate his most recent performance, he bowled a non-stop 15 tidy overs in the first spell of his final game for Waratah.
McFadyen will return to Brisbane and compete in the upcoming T20 Max competition and is seriously considering a permanent move to South Australia where he will connect with a club and endeavour to break into the SACA first class arena.
“I enjoyed my extended bowling in the first spell today and while I only took one wicket, I like long spells with the new ball and so it was perfect and I could experiment a little bit with swing and bounce,” McFadyen said.
“Wickets were a bit harder to come by for me today but my haul of eight last week was my best in first grade cricket and beat the seven wickets in the Brisbane Premier Grade grand final last season with Norths.”
McFadyen is leaving Darwin early next week to go back to Brisbane and then to South Australia so today is likely to be his last stint with Tahs.
“I’ll play the Queensland Cricket T20 Max which gets under way in August and then move to South Australia where hopefully I do well and come to the attention of the SACA selectors,” the 21-year-old bowling all-rounder said.
“Not sure in what form of cricket my future lies, and while I like the tactics of the white ball game, red ball cricket probably suits my skills-set a bit better.”
In other round 10 games, Nightcliff bounced back following an outright defeat and after being sent in by PINT, the Tigers ended the day on a healthy 6-295.
A third wicket partnership of 187 between Jordan Roads (116) and a revitalised Paul Wasiewicz (105no) was the catalyst in setting the imposing target. PINT rotated through eight bowlers with Coby Edmondstone (2-47) and Nicholas Bembrick (2-54) being the most productive.
And top-of-the-table Palmerston is very much in control of its match against Tracy Village. The Village batsmen floundered against spin pair Rommel Shahzad (5-31) and Hamish Martin (3-52) and were bowled out for 160 in 66.3 overs. In reply, the Maroons are 1-28.
Results:
Southern Districts 10-217 (Nic Broes 47, Chris McEvoy 42; Udara Weerasinghe 4-38, Crandel Siegelwin 3-38) v Waratah 1-8.
Tracy Village 10-160 (Guntaas Brar 57, Steven Roser 42; Rommel Shahzad 5-31, Hamish Martin 3-52) v Palmerston 1-28.
Nightcliff 6-295 (Jordan Roads 116, Paul Wasiewicz 105no; Coby Endmondstone 2-47, Nicholas Bembrick 2-52) v PINT.
Bye: Darwin.
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REPLAY: Districts kick clear of willing Palmerston
The Crocodiles have picked up two big wins on the bounce, but they were made to work harder against the Magpies than what the scoreboard suggests. Watch the REPLAY.